Live updates: Hurricane Melissa threatens catastrophe in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm

Jamaicans across the island are bracing for the worst hurricane the country has seen.

In Montego Bay, Glendevon Primary school is being turned into a shelter.

Shelter manager Sandra Simon Clarke and her team have laid mats across desks and the floors, turning classrooms into makeshift bedrooms.

“I have seen and heard that it is going to be catastrophic,” Clarke told Reuters. “So we are expecting that persons will come to the shelter, so we are ready, so please don’t be afraid,” she said, stressing that those coming to the shelter should bring essentials like medications, some food items, and diapers for young children.

In Kingston, Reuters video shows gas station attendants preparing gas tanks, shielding and securing the pump with plastic covering as winds continue to blow.

In coastal Harbour View, Susan Brown is among the residents watching the ocean waves ahead of the hurricane making landfall.

“Down here does not look safe. It doesn’t look safe,” Brown says. “Because people that live down here – when you look at the waves, you can see it coming up. It is not turning back. It’s coming straight ahead.”

Robert, whose house is right on the ocean, is worried about the wind and storm surge. He’s put sandbags by the door of his home to try to keep it secure as he heads further inland into Kingston. Some residents who live near Robert are staying in place and waiting out the storm, worried they may not be able to return home if they evacuate and the coastal highway sustains damage.

“For me, I’d rather stay away,” says Robert.